Van Gessel Collection

Van C. Gessel served his mission in the Japan Okinawa and Japan Central Mission from November 1969 to December 1971. He served as a missionary guide at the Mormon Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka from June to August 1970. Van donated to BYU-Idaho an expo copy of the Book of Mormon, expo medallion, expo coin, and pavilion pamphlet; and shared mission photos, journal entries, letters to his mother, and more. In 2018 the emperor of Japan conferred on Van the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon. In July 2020 he retired from the faculty at Brigham Young University where he taught modern Japanese literature. He currently lives in Orem, Utah with his wife, Elizabeth.